Through a respectful and interactive approach to teaching (including practice-circles, small and large-group discussions, questionnaires, role-plays and other exercises), participants are encouraged to share their experiences and skills and to build on their own strengths.

Thira Consulting currently offers: clinical consultation/supervision and skill training to front-line human service workers; mental health assessments and program development for healing programs/participants; individual counselling; and crisis intervention/debriefing for communities.

Darien Thira, PhD, Reg. Psych., serves as a community development/mental health consultant for many Indigenous communities across Canada and offers training workshops, program development assistance, and clinical consultation.

There are four foundations to the work of Thira Consulting:

your community has the resources that can meet its members’ need for self-esteem and a well-lived life;

self-esteem is a sense of personal, family and community value; it is based upon connection (within oneself and with others) and empowerment (sense of personal strength and social voice);

essential for personal and community wellness, a well-lived life is one of contribution; it embodies a positive family/community role rooted a cultural/spiritual vision; and

the balance of the fundamental values of care (the desire for another’s well-being that creates connection) and respect (the acknowledgment and support of another’s capacity for empowerment) promotes self-esteem and wellness